The AI Efficiency Trap | Psychology Today Canada

Klarna used AI to automate the work of 700 customer service agents but later faced declining customer satisfaction and quality service issues.
Research shows many AI projects fail to deliver expected financial benefits while creating psychological and engagement issues for employees.
The dominant focus on efficiency in AI deployment overlooks the human aspects of work that support motivation, creativity, and resilience.
The “optimize, elevate, innovate” framework suggests using AI to:
- Optimize: Absorb low-meaning, high-friction tasks
- Elevate: Enhance human skills and contributions
- Innovate: Reimagine work processes using AI
Researchers argue that AI can transform work meaningfully if leaders focus on human aspects like engagement and empowerment, rather than just efficiency.
There is a choice between using AI to erode meaning in work or amplifying what makes work worthwhile.